Kill Or Be Killed
by roranoid
Summary: Kill or be killed; the game. Pitted against eachother in a fight, competitors are transported away to another location and must fight to stay alive - or until members of their team rescue them.
1. Chapter 1

**Kill Or Be Killed  
><strong>**Chapter 1**

Her breathing was gentle, so calm, relaxed... considering she was fluttering between the existences of life and death. Her jade green eyes were growing dull and he could feel the life draining out of her body – as she did of him. They both waited for the other's death so the meaningless game of 'killed or be killed' could end.

Sasuke glared at her, hating her for being stronger than she should've been, hating her for being stronger than he thought. After all that, there they laid, both waiting for death to come and whisk either of them away. Their fight had long ended, both having neither the strength nor the will to kill the other.

Sakura closed her eyes and smiled at her former team member, knowing how her cheerfulness had bothered him. He smirked back at her, causing the pink-haired girl to reminisce about how she had loved the very same look in her earlier years. Now, it just aggravated her – he knew it did.

She studied the raven-haired boy, unintentionally noticing how his near-dead self could be so perfect. Very unlike her own, she could assume. Every physical aspect, that she had recently grown to hate, was so... perfect, in an oddly annoying way.

Once upon a time, she would have savored this moment. But given the context, it didn't mean as much to her as it used to. Although truth be told, she could feel the quickening heart beat of her distant self – though it might not have been as distant as she preferred. She remembered the olds days where she used to fight, just to sit next to him. A scratch or two was nothing compared to the popularity boost of sitting next to the famed Uchiha.

"Doesn't mean I give up," she murmured to him, "I've still got a chance."

Sasuke grunted in return, acknowledging the fact that neither of them had given up.

"You have some sort of tracking device, don't you?" she asked, solemnly, "Someone's gonna come for you... Lucky bastard." It finally dawned on her that no one was coming for her. As soon as someone came for Sasuke... she'd be dead.

"You could win, if it were just the two of us..." he admitted.

"Shut up," Sakura said.

"...It was a compliment..." he mumbled back.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Although I have to admit, you did just voluntarily talk to me... I guess that's a nice way to preface death."

"Too bad, eh?" Sasuke said, smirking at her again. "You would've been real excited back then..." he said, reading her mind. His smirk widened as she blushed.

"Back then," she repeated, a smile emerging on her face, "I can't wait to see the look on Ino's face..." She winked at him; amazed that the only time they were able to have a near-proper conversation was when they were both on the verge of death.

Funny.

She started to panic again – no one was coming for her. No one knew where she was. She didn't even know where she was. Where was she?

"Just concentrate..." was what the look on Sasuke's face said.

So she did, concentrating on carefully channeling the chakra through her hands. He nodded at her, wincing as he did, causing Sakura to notice the giant bruise on his leg that was swelling rapidly. She cringed at the fact that all the bones were shattered and at the fact that she was the one who had shattered them. She forced back a laugh. There was a time where this would have been a mere dream for her. Being in an equal fight with Sasuke? Ha.

She looked back at his arm and shuddered, wondering if her injuries were looking as bad. ...Probably not, as he was not into physical violence as she was. But thank god there wasn't any blood. Everything was so much worse when there was blood. Sakura shuddered at the thought.

"Can you move?" she asked him, mumbling.

His silence answered for him. He frowned. She could feel his gaze on her, but she was reluctant to look back, knowing it was best to not to get too attached to someone who would only try to kill her again. She didn't have to heal him, after all. He couldn't move. It was safer to leave him paralyzed.

"Come back," she whispered without looking up, "Come back with me..."

He refused to answer, leaving them in silence yet again. "Don't ask me why," he said, changing his mind.

"Then don't give me shit about already having chosen your path."

The Uchiha boy smiled, his eyes dancing in amusement. "...It's been a long time since I've smiled."

"Honestly, I can't imagine why you would."

Their voices evaporated, once again leaving them in silence. Sasuke went back to studying his former friend, before noticing the familiar chakra of an approaching ninja. "Someone's coming."

"For you, or for me?" Sakura asked him, feeling the energy drain out of her body.

"Guess," he told her.

"For you, I bet."

Silence.

"Are you sure you want to bet?"

"Eh, what?" she asked, jerking to look at him, "I never said –"

"Yes," he said slowly, "You did."

"…Where are we?" she asked, changing the topic. She hated it when she was wrong.

Sasuke mumbled, "South, two days trip."

"What? We're that close? How do you even know where we are?"

He smiled again, "I have, a good sense of direction."

"I've found her!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Naruto..." they both said.

"Lucky bitch," he said, teasing her, "But, you lose."

She smirked back at him, smugly, "I hope your people get here soon."

"Oh, don't you worry about me," he said, "My people shouldn't be far behind that dope anyway."

Sakura smiled, failing to notice the wistful look on his face. "Come back with me?" she asked, more out of politeness now, then before. She waited for an answer before she turned around. Once again, she was met by silence. She limped away from him, aware that Naruto would pound the life out of him if they came face to face.

"I'll hold you too that bet," he called after her, smirking, watching her walk away.

He laid there and waited for Zetsu to come collect him, as humiliating as it might be. He prepared for the embarrassment of being taunted by his fellow Akatsuki after this. Beaten by a girl, tch. He sighed and glanced at his arm.

Sakura had been nice enough to heal it before she left. ...So naïve. To imagine she was willing to heal the enemy, at the cost of her safety. No wonder she turned out to be a medic ninja.

He managed to crawl, bit by bit, in the direction of the base, getting as far away from the once hyperactive blonde as he could. He heard Naruto yelling in the distance, knowing he was swearing to kill the bastard who had attacked Sakura. He knew Sakura was denying that it had been him, their former team mate. "He's gone," she would say to get him to calm down, except it wouldn't work. But, that's only how he imagined it. He would never know.

"Naruto!" the pink haired shinobi laughed when she saw him.

He ran to pick her up, embracing her in a bear hug, oblivious to the pain her injuries were causing her.

Hinata emerged, a medic kit in hand. She scolded him with a stern look on her face and quickly instructed him to place Sakura on the ground where she could heal her.

"You're one lucky girl," she said, referring to the fact that Naruto had come back to find her.

Kiba laughed, unaware of what Hinata was referring to as being lucky. "I know! Another minute and you would have like, passed out, or something."

"Or something," Sakura repeated, thinking about Sasuke.

"Where is he?" Naruto glowered, seeing the look on her face, "Where's that bastard? I'll kill him!"

"He's gone," she said, avoiding eye contact with him. He seemed to know that she was lying.

Naruto's brow creased, "Damn it." He punched the nearest tree, causing a dent in the previous smooth trunk. "Damn it!"

"Don't worry," she told him, "He's beat up as much as I am." She smiled at the thought, her eyes crinkling.

"That can't be..." he started, angering her.

"Don't give me that shit," she yelled at Naruto, "Don't give me shit. Where were _you_ for three years? Where were you when the game started? Where were you when I was _taken_? Where were you? Don't come back and give me shit about how I suck on the battlefield. Just. Don't."

Naruto punched the tree again, his blood pulsing, fuming. He had not meant to offend her. He never did. But she was so easily offended by him.

"I'm sorry, alright?" he yelled back, "I'm sorry for disappearing, I'm sorry for not being there, I'm _sorry _for not taking part in this _stupid_ game. I'm _sorry_, alright?"

Sakura laid in silence, having no more reason to yell now that Naruto had apologized. How could you hate someone who was truly sorry for what they did?

Hinata glared at Naruto for agitating her. "Shut. Up," she mouthed angrily. The Hyuuga turned to Sakura, "Stay with me, alright?" She noticed that her friend was beginning to daze out.

The pink haired girl smiled back, "I'm gonna have a nap... Keep me... alive... yeah?"

She fell into a state of unconsciousness, unaware of Hinata yelling for Kiba to get her medical kit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Killed or Be Killed  
><strong>**Chapter 2**

"Bastard," Sakura said as soon as she woke up, spotting Naruto asleep on the chair beside her. "Hey, baka!" she said loudly, causing him to jerk awake from his slumber. "Aren't you meant to be conscious when I wake up?"

Naruto instantly sat up, responding to Sakura's killer intent. "Oh, you're awake…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "The medics said it'd be a few hours until you woke up." He checked the clock on the far wall which read four o'clock. "It's only been an hour, those liars." The Uzumaki muttered his distaste for the medics at the Konoha Hospital. He had been impounded so many times and it was so long ago that it was hard to remember them all. There had been a medic-in-training a few years back who he had especially disliked. 'Doctor Youth', renown for his obsession with using the word 'youth'.

Sakura's eye twitched, "A few more hours?" She yelled," You let them drug me?"

He was in fact Maito Gai, the leader of former Team Gai. Concerned with the low levels of ninjas who were being trained to be medics, Gai had signed up to be a medic while he wasn't on missions – hoping to encourage other youthful ninja to join the medical field. The fad hadn't exactly caught on, but despite that, Gai was still employed as one of the hospital staff – to many patients' annoyance.

He had volunteered to nurse Sakura back to health, to show his gratitude for how she had healed almost every ninja in Konoha.

The very same medic appeared frm behind the gleaming white curtains of another patient. With both hands in the air, he yelled, "I am Doctor Youth and yet another youthful person shall be saved! No one in this room is being left behind; I shall save _all_ you youthful ninja!"

Sakura's eye twitched again. "You," she glared at the grinning blonde, reading to cut his eyes out with the kunai… that she no longer had. "You're lucky I can't move my legs."

"It's a youthful to remove all weapons from patients being operated on." Naruto grinned even wider, "But thank the medics that they drugged you…"

"Did someone call Doctor Youth?" the green jumpsuit-clad asked, instantly appearing at the end of Sakura's bed. Naruto, startled, yelled and fell out of his chair in surprise.

They both shook their head, hoping that if they didn't make conversation, he would leave. Mistake number one.

Unaware that he wasn't welcome, Gai continued. "I swear on my youthfulness that I just heard someone say 'youth'… Maybe I have the wrong patient… Oh, Naruto!" he shouted, seeing the blonde haired boy cringing at him. "So the stories were true! You're back, and well, it seems."

Naruto nodded his greetings, regretting the fact that he had not made a quick getaway. Even if it meant he had to face Sakura's wrath afterwards. Mistake number two.

"Not like the last time I saw you," Gai said, reminiscing.

Naruto recalled that last time, he hand somehow angered Sakura, landing him in the hospital for a week.

"You. Sedated. Me." Sakura glared, "You. Drugged. Me."

Gai-sensei shrugged, "I had to. You almost killed one of my assistants. We had to send her to the ER. It's a shame really, the number of youth-filled ninja, though none as filled with youth as me, who want to become medics is gradually decreasing… We can't afford to lose even one of them." He moved his hand downwards, "Though it _is_ more of a plummet… it's quite, concerning. "It is you youthful ninja to blame, of course. Your success on the battlefield is encouraging more and more young genin to chose the path of the fighter." He looked at the two irritated jounin and wiped a tear from his eyes. "I admit, you cannot be held responsible. Those roles must be filled, and the missions are better when completed. But influencing the younger generation down such a path of death and destruction, that I cannot forgive."

The strange medic drifted away, to the relief of Naruto and Sakura, whose eye was still twitching.

"Ah, good old times," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "I could have lived the rest of my life without hearing the word 'youthful' again." He shook his head and studied his pink-haired friend. "…Who knew you were such a violent sleeper? You always seemed peaceful as a cherry blossom…" He stood up from his chair, only to fall back onto the ground to avoid an incoming bouquet of flowers and a 'get well soon card'. "Almost," he added.

He sighed and shook his head at her temper. "Well, I'll go see if I can get you checked out." Naruto dodged another card and caught a box of chocolates.

"Geez," he said, "But thanks for the chocolate."

With Naruto gone, Sakura was able to ponder on the dream she had had. The events of the previous fight mixed in with her dream played back in her head. She could see the kunai headed for her chest but instead of dodging it, she had let it pierce through her.

She remembered the blood in her dream as she had continuously failed at healing her wound. She remembered the cherry blossoms imbedded in her bright red blood.

…No wonder she had been so violent.

Sakura let her former teammate lead the way as she followed a few steps behind. Her recovery had been quick as it was Tsunade-sama who had healed her, not 'Doctor Youth'. Having thanked her lucky stars for a quick recovery, she let herself relax knowing she was safe in her hometown.

She embraced the gentle breeze that often accompanied springtime and breathed in a long breath of air. Feeling refreshed, she realized that she had been subconsciously glancing at Team 7's old training grounds, a habit that she often scolded herself for.

Ever since Sasuke had left, Kakashi's death and Naruto's disappearance, the training grounds had only brought up old memories of their team and how it had use to be back then. As much as she liked to wade in the good times, she knew it wasn't going to do her any good, having her head stuck in the past. She often felt that the memories she exaggerated, making them happier than they were. She wanted them to be more than unwanted memories, but they weren't.

"Why'd you leave?" she asked, her voice breaking through the silence.

Naruto heaved a sigh, relieved that she had asked the question that had been dragging him down. He had waited for her to bring up the inevitable topic and wondered why she hadn't up until now.

He shrugged. Despite having thought about this moment for many times, he never had figured out how to respond. He shrugged again under Sakura's intense gaze.

"Tell me what happened."

Starting from the beginning, Naruto recounted, "So Konoha was under attack. Somehow, Orochimaru had infiltrated the village's defense and snuck his way into the Jounin exams and managed to kill the Third Hokage."

Sakura stared at him, "I know that."

Ignoring her, Naruto continued. It was easier to start with something that they both knew.

"Sasuke had fled with the bastard and Anko had led a team to go on a mission to find him."

"She hasn't come back."

"You and me were stuck in the village but you didn't care. You tried to stop me but I didn't care. I tracked Orochimaru but he was already dead. Sasuke had killed him. I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am." Naruto took a breath, relieved to have had told someone, something about that night three years back. "I didn't kill him."

"The day after, I went to tell the Elders that you had left," Sakura said, "They organized a Root search party and they found Orochimaru dead, and managed to find traces of your chakra around the place. They told the rest of us that you had died, and you were digested whilst trying to kill him." Naruto raised an eyebrow. She took a deep breath, "We had a funeral for you."

Naruto felt his heart jump. _A funeral._

"I fought with him. That's why my chakra was… everywhere. I lost," he mumbled ashamed, "I let him get away and now he does this to you." He waves his hand at Sakura, gesturing the injuries Sasuke had caused.

"…And for three years? Don't tell me you trained," she asked, shaking her head.

Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, basically. I won't let him get away next time."

Sakura flinched at the evil intent that her formerly nonchalant friend was emitting. It was _nothing_ like his old self. Was it possible that the once ecstatic ninja had changed while he was away? She imagined the Uzumaki boy training all day every day for three years and rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"So why did you come back?"

"Well, I heard you were playing a game," he grinned, "Can I join?"


End file.
